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Alex
Alex & Sierra 'were an American indie folk-pop duo based in Orlando, Florida who won season 3 of The X Factor USA. They were a part of the Groups catagory, mentored by Simon Cowell. The duo consisted of Alex Kinsey and Sierra Deaton. They announced that they had disbanded on September 1, 2017. Former Members * Alex Kinsey (born May 21, 1991; age 25) * Sierra Deaton (born February 11, 1991; age 25) Background Alex, who is from New Smyrna Beach, Florida, and Sierra, who is from Orlando, had been dating for over two years but have known each other since high school. They have been performing together for a while and have posted cover versions of songs such as "I Knew You Were Trouble" by Taylor Swift and "If I Didn't Know Better" by The Civil Wars on YouTube. Alex and Sierra both auditioned for season 12 of American Idol, with Alex making it to Hollywood week and producers saying no to Sierra. Both were students at the University of Central Florida when they decided to try out for the show. Sierra has since graduated. The couple split in 2016 after 7 years together. The X Factor Alex & Sierra auditioned in New Orleans and wowed the judges with a stripped-down version of the Britney Spears song "Toxic", resulting in them getting four yeses. They made the top 40 and got Simon Cowell as their mentor. Four Chair Challenge In this part of the competition, Alex & Sierra took on the John Travolta/Olivia Newton-John classic "You're The One That I Want" from the 1978 musical film ''Grease. The judges praised them for putting their own twist on the song. Demi Lovato told them they were one of her favorite acts, but questioned the future and their relationship, which annoyed their mentor Simon Cowell due to his support of Alex & Sierra as a couple. Despite this, they made the live shows. Live shows For the first live show, Alex whipped out his guitar for the duo's stripped-down version of the Robin Thicke hit "Blurred Lines". Kelly Rowland did like the performance but warned them not to let their performances become too corny, something Simon Cowell disagreed with. He praised Alex & Sierra on their performance, calling it "original" and "unique". It earned them a spot in the top 12. For Motown Night, they took on "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" by the great Marvin Gaye, which earned them praise. On the re-vote show. which happened due to a graphics error that nullified the votes, Alex & Sierra sang "Give Me Love" by Ed Sheeran. For '80s Night, the couple took on the Robert Palmer classic "Addicted to Love" with Alex on electric guitar. The performance earned them mixed reviews with two judges, Kelly Rowland and Demi Lovato, pointing out how uncomfortable the couple looked when not near each other(the performance featured them separated by a wall), to their mentor Simon Cowell expressing his own disappointment over how the performance went. The cristicism didn't stop voters from putting Alex & Sierra through to the next week. For British Invasion night, Alex & Sierra took on the One Direction hit "Best Song Ever", slowing down the tempo and changing the arrangement completely. The performance earned them massive applause from the audience and a standing ovation from Simon Cowell. Demi Lovato called it their best performance and even told them that she planned to download the song on iTunes. However, Sierra's vocals were criticized for not being as strong as Alex's, which hurt her feelings because she had only been singing seriously for only a year. For Big Band night, Alex & Sierra put a big band spin on the Taylor Swift hit "I Knew You Were Trouble", dediciating it to each other. The judges enjoyed the performance despite some very minor criticism from Kelly Rowland. They then went up against the other 7 acts in a face-off. For Divas/Unplugged night, the couple took on two songs. Their "Diva" song was "Say My Name" by Destiny's Child, which did make Alex & Sierra nervous because they were going to be singing the song in front of Kelly Rowland, who had been a member of Destiny's Child. That song earned them praise. Their "Unplugged" song, "Say Something" by A Great Big World and Christina Aguilera, was a risk for them because of Sierra deciding to play piano on the song. However, the performance worked for them and earned them well deserved praise by the judges. Simon Cowell, in particular, was very proud of them and called the performance his favorite of the season. He even told them that he would download the song. For the semi finals, the public chose "Little Talks" by Of Monsters and Men, which earned Alex & Sierra praise, but it was their performance of "Gravity" by Sara Bareilles that really blew everyone away, even bringing Demi Lovato to tears, and secured their place in the finals. Like "Say Something" before it, the couple's version of "Gravity" hit number 1 on iTunes. For the finals, Alex & Sierra did three songs. They did their "save me" song from the re-vote show, "Give Me Love" by Ed Sheeran. They also got to sing "Bleeding Love" with Leona Lewis, and their "song of the season" was "Say Something". Despite the "Bleeding Love" performance receivng a bit of a mixed response(Demi Lovato said that it wasn't their best performance), the other two songs received praise. Alex & Sierra won the X Factor on December 19, 2013. They are the first group to win the show. Post X Factor In one of their post-show interviews, Alex & Sierra said that they planned to get to work on their debut album as quickly as possible. They revealed via Instagram that they are now signed to Columbia Records. They started work on their first album in January 2014 and hoped to have it out in, according to them, about four months or so. They got the chance to write songs with some big names including John Legend, Jason Mraz, and One Direction's Harry Styles. "Scarecrow" and It's About Us ''(2014-present) Their debut single, "Scarecrow", was released on June 23, 2014 with their debut album, ''It's About Us, being released on October 7, 2014. They posted the song's lyric video, which features muppets, on VEVO on May 27, 2014. It's About Us has proven to be successful, debuting at number 8 on the Billboard 200. They are the highest-charting winners of any season of The X Factor. Tour On July 9, 2014, singer Colbie Calliat announced that Alex & Sierra will be opening for her on her upcoming Gypsy Heart Tour, which kicked off on August 27, 2014 in Denver, Colorado. They later hit the road with singer-songwriter Andy Grammer and the band Paradise Fears for the Good Guys and A Girl Tour, which kicked off on February 24, 2015 in Seattle, Washington and ended on April 3,2015 in West Hollywood, California. New album Alex & Sierra announced via Twitter and Instagram that they are back in the studio working on their second album. On September 30, 3016, they released their first EP, As Seen on TV, which consists of some songs they sang on the X Factor as well as a few original songs. Split On September 1, 2017, Alex & Sierra posted on their Facebook page that they had ended their romantic relationship a year earlier, and that they were ending their musical partnership. Discography '''EPs: * As Seen on TV (2016) Albums: * It's About Us ''(2014) '''Singles:' * "Say Something" (2013) * "Scarecrow" (2014) Trivia * Alex & Sierra met on a beach in 2009. * Their first date was a romantic boat tour. * Both are good at impressions. * Alex & Sierra's version of "Best Song Ever" hit the top 30 on iTunes. * Their versions of "Say Something" and "Gravity" both went to number 1 on iTunes, making them the first X Factor contestants to ever achieve that feat. * They're the first and only group to win the American verison of the show and the second group overall in the X Factor franchise to win next to the British girl group Little Mix, who won the UK version of the show in 2011. Gallery 1007 xf s3 top16 904x508 alexsierra-contestant wall.jpg 13-Top13-BW-portraits-480x270 retina.jpg tumblr_mv53gnedih1qgay5wo1_500.jpg xf03_ep12_perf_alex_and_sierra_960x540_59135043577.jpg xFactor_57-AlexandSierra-white_2174.rc_.jpg R3eXg2X.jpg 07-top-6-portraits-480x270_retina.jpg 08-top-4-portraits-1170x658-480x270_retina.jpg 09-top-4-portraits-1170x658-480x270_retina.jpg 12-Top13-BW-portraits-480x270_retina.jpg Category:Groups Category:Season Three Category:Mentored by Simon Cowell Category:Winners